Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $2,000.00| Rating: 8

Pros:

Build is very solid and distortion is low.

Cons:

Flare and soft edges

Honestly $2000 is hard to justify on this lens. Don't get me wrong, it a very nice lens and IQ is definitely very good among its class.

Here are some sample shots taken with a 5D (take note to some comparison shots between the MkII version and this lens, interesting finds with flare and soft edges):Sample Photos

-Lex

rainerknappe

Registered: May 2007Posts: 24

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM review by rainerknappe

Review Date: 5/17/2007

Would you recommend the product? No |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 6

Pros:

good construccion

Cons:

bulky and not very good picture-quality

I made a very long test with this Canon L 14. Not worth even 1000$. The only good fact is the solid construccion. The pricetag of 2000$ is a bad joke. Strong resolution-fall-off at the borders, only the center is quiet good. Colours are a bit washed out and flare is a real big problem. Distortion is only acceptable and you will see some cornershading. May be this lens is made for film, but on digital its realy nothing special. There are a lot of good L-lenses around, but the L 14 is not worth a deeper look! If you like extrem wideangels you can buy the very good prime Sigma EX DG 14 (550$) or the fantastic zoom Tokina 12-24 PRO AX (450$).

gadgetguy

Registered: May 2006Posts: 62

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM review by gadgetguy

Review Date: 1/5/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 8

Pros:

W-I-D-E

Cons:

image quality not right up there

This is one of the widest rectilinear lenses you can get, and with L-series quality to boot. However, it's not quite on par as other L lenses (maybe it needs an updated version).

For it's price, though, I'd recommend the 16-35/2.8L zoom - sure it's not as wide, but optically better and you get the zoom to0.

cjbowlsby

Registered: November 2006Posts: 17

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM review by cjbowlsby

Review Date: 12/28/2006

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 8

Pros:

size, focal length, built in hood, wide aperture, speed of focus

Cons:

flare, goofy lens cap

I really like this lens. It's REALLY fast & accurate to focus. It's 2.8 aperture is very usefull in dark environments.

It gets pretty soft in the corners on a full frame wide open. But on a cropped sensor, it's a very useful 22mm equivalent, and sharp to boot.

I keep flip-flopping between keeping this on my 20d, or the 10-22. They are roughly the same size. The 14mm is brighter, but the 10-22 is less prone to flare & has the flexibility of zoom (and is less expensive).

I dislike the large metal lens cap. It doesn't fasten to the lens very well.

photogjack

Registered: July 2006Posts: 9

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM review by photogjack

Review Date: 12/8/2006

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $1,200.00| Rating: 6

Pros:

really, really wide

Cons:

a flare monster

This is my least favorite Canon lens. When you need a really wide lens (on full frame) this is it. On cropped bodies, the 10-22 is probably a better choice. But my copy flares almost uncontrollably and is not terribly sharp. (My 15mm fisheye has better flare control and I think it is sharper, but it obviously has the FE thing going.) I recommend this lens for people who really need a wide angle and are prepared to deal with its foibles. But I think a lot of people will be disappointed with it. jack